Why Maturity Assessments Add Value to External Quality Assessments
The 2024 edition of the Quality Assessment (QA) Manual includes guidance for performing internal and external quality assessments that focus on conformance and performance (Standard 8.3 – Quality) as emphasized in the Global Internal Audit Standards™ (Standards). The QA Manual states, “Chief audit executives (CAEs) should strive for more than conformance with the Global Internal Audit Standards. They should also focus on optimizing the internal audit function’s (IAF’s) performance with the goal of addressing the organization’s changing needs and exceeding stakeholders’ expectations. A good start to optimizing the function is assessing its maturity.” A maturity assessment, when included with an external quality assessment (EQA), is a powerful strategic planning (Standard 9.2 – Internal Audit Strategy) tool for identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It helps identify key internal audit strategic initiatives that advance performance to increase value delivered to stakeholders and are linked to the organization’s strategy, stakeholder’s expectations, and the organization’s changing needs.